According to the list published by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO), Apple has recently obtained a watch patent for the Apple Watch. The patent describes an Apple Watch that can detect and respond to tiny finger movements and user gestures.
The title of the patent is “Electrodes Suitable for Gesture Recognition” and the number is US 20230105223 A1. From the patent description, it can be seen that the electrodes are mainly embedded in the Apple Watch strap, which can monitor the user’s gesture operation.
The patent abstract reads: “Electrode sensors embedded in the flexible strap of a wrist-worn device can be used to monitor user gestures. Multiple rows of electrodes can be configured to detect electromyography (EMG) generated by muscle and tendon activity. ) signal. The strap could include a detachable electrical connection (such as a pogo pin) that connects to the watch’s processor for analysis.”
Regardless of whether Apple will put this feature into the Apple Watch, it is expected that it will be after next year at the earliest. There shouldn’t be any major changes to the hardware this year.
Apple is expected to announce watchOS 10 along with iOS 17, macOS 14 and other new software at its annual WWDC keynote, which kicks off on June 6.
In his latest column, Gurman said watchOS 10 will be a “major update” with “greater enhancements,” including an updated interface. He didn’t provide any additional details, so exact new features and changes remain to be seen.
Gurman also said that the next-generation Apple Watch is planned to have minimal hardware changes, so watchOS 10 will obviously be the main focus this year.
The first watchOS 10 developer preview is expected to be available to Apple Developer Program members shortly after the WWDC 2023 keynote, while the first public beta may be released in July for those who join the free beta software program.
